Artwork Data

Title

Bok, ram, leeuw en stier

Artist

Albert Termote

Year

1939

Material

natuursteen / graniet

Dimensions

200 cm

Artwork Location

Address

Vaillantplein, Den Haag

City district

Centrum

GPS data

52.0709371589, 4.3009538325062 View on map

Artwork Description

Text

Buck, ram, lion and bull': these four animals have adorned the ends of bridge railings near the Vaillantplein since 1939. All four are depicted in a reclining pose. A quiet pose, which gives the robust animals a gentle touch. They are said to symbolise the constellations of ibex, ram, lion and bull. Made by sculptor Albert Termote, they belong to the two large equestrian statues on the railings in the middle of the bridge, which he also made.

The four resting animals form a counterpoint to the wildly rearing horses with riders on the bridge railings. Furthermore, in 'goat, ram, lion and bull' the relationship in posture to 'donkey, cow, deer and horse' by Dirk Bus from 1931 is striking. The Flemish-born Termote must have known these animal sculptures at the ends of the bridge at the Lijnbaan, because he had lived in Voorburg since 1922. Incidentally, Termote depicted the animals in a more naturalistic and less stylised way than Bus.

Termote arrived in the Netherlands in 1915 and studied for three years in Amsterdam. He set up his artistic practice in Volendam in 1918, and eventually found a permanent home in Voorburg from 1922 until his death in 1978. There he made numerous sculptures, which were placed throughout the Netherlands. Termote's career was a brilliant one.

Four years before his death, he was still in the news. Helped by his grandson, he smashed his plaster models to pieces to clear out his studio. When you finish it, you have a lot of work that has to go. It was a bit of a nuisance, forty years I was sitting there. I made all those great things there. The models were broken or given away,' says the 85-year-old sculptor in the NRC newspaper of 5 August 1972. He didn't think the models were important anymore. After all, the definitive sculptures can be found all over the country.

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